Special Issue of Ebony magazine from September 1963, "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation." The cover features an image of Frederick Douglass with the caption "Frederick Douglass: Father Of The Protest Movement."

In "A Statement from the Publisher" on page 19, John H. Johnson states that the "entire issue of 236 pages is devoted to the dramatic story of 100 years of hope and struggle."

There is a message from President John F. Kennedy on page 20. Kennedy describes the year 1963 as " 'the great turning-point,' when the nation at last undertook to carry the process of emancipation through to its fulfillment."

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Curator's Notes

Ebony magazine was a pictorial news magazine that first appeared in November 1945. Created by John H. Johnson, it was modeled after LIFE magazine, another popular, mainstream pictorial magazine of the time. Ebony celebrated African American life and culture by depicting the achievements of black Americans. During the late 1950s the magazine ran Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s column, “Advice for Living By.” During the 1960s, articles supporting and covering civil rights appeared as the magazine provided a national platform for addressing the racial issues affecting African Americans. - Krishna Shenoy, Librarian/Archivist